Moscow vows revenge

‘Terrorist’ incursion into Russia draws furious response

MOSCOW: Russia has warned Kyiv that it will respond “extremely” harshly to all future incursions, after Moscow deployed jets and artillery to fight off an armed group that crossed over from Ukraine.

As Russia took stock following the most serious attack on its soil since Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine began in February 2022, the chief of the Wagner mercenary group said 10,000 prisoners he recruited died in Ukraine.

“We will continue to respond promptly and extremely harshly to such actions by Ukrainian militants,” Russian Defence Minister

Sergei Shoigu said after two days of fighting in the southern region of Belgorod.

Moscow said Russian forces had killed “more than 70 Ukrainian terrorists” and had destroyed several armed vehicles but these claims could not be independently verified. Russia said the remaining fighters had been driven back.

The alleged perpetrators of the incursion spoke to Ukrainian media on Wednesday (local time) and hailed the “success” of the operation.

“I want to prove to them that we can fight against tyrants and that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s power is not unlimited,” said Denis Kapustin of the Russian Volunteer Corps, which claimed the sortie.

Separately, Russia said it had fended off a Ukrainian attack on one of its warships in Turkish waters with unmanned vessels.

It added that the Russian vessel had been tasked with guarding pipeline infrastructure in Turkish waters.

Turkey did not immediately respond to Russia’s claims.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose ragtag forces have been leading the assault on Bakhmut, said about 10,000 convicts he recruited to fight with Wagner were killed on the battlefield in Ukraine.

“I took 50,000 prisoners of which around 20 per cent were killed,” he said.

Mr Prigozhin, who has criticised the regular army and blamed Mr Shoigu for Moscow’s massive losses, also said Russia’s border with Ukraine was not properly protected.

“Sabotage groups cross the Belgorod region absolutely calmly,” he said in a video interview.

Convicts are believed to have been used as cannon fodder in Ukraine, accounting for most of Wagner’s losses in the country.

In early May, the White House said more than 20,000 Russian troops had died and another 80,000 were wounded in five months of fighting in eastern Ukraine, particularly in Bakhmut.

Mr Prigozhin, whose influence has risen hugely during the more than year-long offensive, has scathingly criticised Russia’s top brass, accusing them of being responsible for huge losses.

“There are now tens of thousands of relatives of those who were killed. Probably there will be hundreds of thousands. We cannot hide from this,” he said.